See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/331396903

A Vision of 6G Wireless Systems: Applications, Trends, Technologies, and Open

Research Problems

Preprint · February 2019

CITATIONS READS

0 2,607

3 authors:

Walid Saad Mehdi Bennis

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University University of Oulu
507 PUBLICATIONS   11,690 CITATIONS    366 PUBLICATIONS   8,193 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Mingzhe Chen
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) and Princeton University
43 PUBLICATIONS   703 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Beyond 5G Networks: Context-Awareness, mmW communications, and Caching View project

mmWave V2X communications View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Mingzhe Chen on 05 March 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 A Vision of 6G Wireless Systems: Applications, Trends,
Technologies, and Open Research Problems
Walid Saad∗ , Mehdi Bennis† , and Mingzhe Chen‡,∗
∗ Wireless@VT, Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA, Email: walids@vt.edu.
† CWC - Centre for Wireless Communications, University of Oulu, Finland, Email: mehdi.bennis@oulu.fi.
‡ Beijing Key Laboratory of Network System Architecture and Convergence,
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China 100876, Email: chenmingzhe@bupt.edu.cn.
Abstract—The ongoing deployment of 5G cellular systems is
continuously exposing the inherent limitations of this system,
compared to its original premise as an enabler for Internet
arXiv:1902.10265v1 [cs.IT] 26 Feb 2019
of Everything applications. These 5G drawbacks are currently
spurring worldwide activities focused on defining the next-
generation 6G wireless system that can truly integrate far-
reaching applications ranging from autonomous systems to ex-
tended reality and haptics. Despite recent 6G initiatives1 , the
fundamental architectural and performance components of the
system remain largely undefined. In this paper, we present a
holistic, forward-looking vision that defines the tenets of a 6G
system. We opine that 6G will not be a mere exploration of
more spectrum at high-frequency bands, but it will rather be a
convergence of upcoming technological trends driven by exciting,
underlying services. In this regard, we first identify the primary
drivers of 6G systems, in terms of applications and accompanying
technological trends. Then, we propose a new set of service
classes and expose their target 6G performance requirements.
We then identify the enabling technologies for the introduced
6G services and outline a comprehensive research agenda that
leverages those technologies. We conclude by providing concrete
recommendations for the roadmap toward 6G. Ultimately, the
intent of this article is to serve as a basis for stimulating more
out-of-the-box research around 6G.
I. I NTRODUCTION
To date, the wireless network evolution was primarily driven
by an incessant need for higher data rates, which mandated
a continuous 1000x increase in the network capacity. While
this demand for wireless capacity will continue to grow,
the emergence of the Internet of Everything (IoE) system,
connecting millions of people and billions of machines, is
yielding a radical paradigm shift from the rate-centric en-
hanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services of yesteryears
towards ultra-reliable, low latency communications (URLLC).
Although the fifth generation (5G) cellular system [1]
was marketed as the key IoE enabler, through concerted 5G
standardization efforts that led to the first 5G new radio
(5G NR) milestone (for non-standalone 5G) and subsequent
3GPP releases, the initial premise of 5G – as a true carrier
of IoE services – is yet to be realized. One can argue
that the evolutionary part of 5G (i.e., supporting rate-hungry
eMBB services) has gained significant momentum, however,
the promised revolutionary outlook of 5G – a system operating
almost exclusively at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies
and enabling heterogeneous IoE services – has thus far re-
mained a mirage. Although the 5G systems that are currently
1 One example is the 6Genesis project in Finland (see
https://www.oulu.fi/6gflagship/).
being marketed will readily support basic IoE and URLLC
services (e.g., factory automation), it is debatable whether
they can deliver the tomorrow’s smart city IoE applications.
Moreover, even though 5G will eventually support fixed-
access at mmWave frequencies, it is more likely that early
5G roll-outs will be centered around sub-6 GHz, especially
for supporting mobility.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented proliferation of new IoE
services is ongoing. Examples range from eXtended reality
(XR) services (encompassing augmented, mixed, and virtual
reality (AR/MR/VR)) to telemedicine, haptics, flying vehi-
cles, brain-computer interfaces, and connected autonomous
systems. These applications will disrupt the original 5G goal
of supporting short-packet, sensing-based URLLC services. To
successfully operate IoE services such as XR and connected
autonomous systems, a wireless system must simultaneously
deliver high reliability, low latency, and high data rates, for
heterogeneous devices, across uplink and downlink. Emerging
IoE services will also require an end-to-end co-design of
communication, control, and computing functionalities, which
to date has been largely overlooked. To cater for this new
breed of services, unique challenges must be addressed ranging
from characterizing the fundamental rate-reliability-latency
tradeoffs governing their performance to exploiting frequen-
cies beyond sub-6 GHz and transforming wireless systems
into a self-sustaining, intelligent network fabric which flex-
ibly provisions and orchestrates communication-computing-
control-localization-sensing resources tailored to the requisite
IoE scenario.
To overcome these challenges and catalyze the deployment
of new IoE services, a disruptive sixth generation (6G) wire-
less system, whose design is inherently tailored to the perfor-
mance requirements of the aforementioned IoE applications
and their accompanying technological trends, is needed. The
drivers of 6G will be a confluence of past trends (e.g., densi-
fication, higher rates, and massive antennas) and of emerging
trends that include new services and the recent revolution in
wireless devices (e.g., smart wearables, implants, XR devices,
etc.), artificial intelligence (AI), computing, sensing, and 3D
environmental mapping.
The main contribution of this article is a bold, forward-
looking vision of 6G systems (see Fig. 1) that identifies
the applications, trends, performance metrics, and disruptive
technologies, that will drive the 6G revolution. The proposed
vision will then delineate new 6G services and provide a
concrete research roadmap and recommendations to facilitate
 6G: Driving Applications

Multisensory Connected robotics Wireless Brain- Blockchain and

XR and Computer Distributed
Applications Autonomous Interactions Ledger
Systems Technologies

6G: Driving Trends

More Bits, From Spatial Emergence of Massive From SON Convergence of End of the
Spectrum, to Volumetric Smart Availability to Self- Communication, Smartphone
Reliability Spectral and Surfaces and of Small Sustaining Sensing, Control, Era
Energy Environments Data Networks Localization, and
Efficiency Computing

bps/Hz/
Joules/m3

6G: Enabling Technologies

Above 6 GHz Transceivers Communicati Edge AI Integrated Energy Beyond 6G
for 6G with on with Large Terrestrial, Transfer and
Integrated Intelligent Airborne, and Harvesting
Frequency Surfaces Satellite
Mobile Bands Networks
BS
mmWave band

and THz

Fig. 1. 6G Vision: Applications, Trends, and Technologies.

the leap from current 5G systems towards 6G.
II. 6G D RIVING A PPLICATIONS , M ETRICS , AND N EW
S ERVICE C LASSES
Every new cellular system generation is driven by innovative
applications. 6G is no exception: It will be borne out of
an unparalleled emergence of exciting new applications and
technological trends that will shape its performance targets
while radically redefining standard 5G services. In this section,
we first introduce the main applications that motivate 6G
deployment and, then, discuss ensuing technological trends,
target performance metrics, and new service requirements.
A. Driving Applications behind 6G and their Requirements
While traditional applications, such as live multimedia
streaming, will remain central to 6G, the key determinants of
the system performance will be four new application domains:
1) Multisensory XR Applications: XR will yield many
killer applications for 6G across the AR/MR/VR spectrum.
Upcoming 5G systems still fall short of providing a full immer-
sive XR experience capturing all sensory inputs due to their
inability to deliver very low latencies for data-rate intensive
XR applications. A truly immersive AR/MR/VR experience
requires a joint design integrating not only engineering (wire-
less, computing, storage) requirements but also perceptual
requirements stemming from human senses, cognition, and
physiology. Minimal and maximal perceptual requirements
and limits must be factored into the engineering process (com-
puting, processing, etc.). To do so, a new concept of quality-
of-physical-experience (QoPE) measure is needed to merge
physical factors from the human user itself with classical QoS
(e.g., latency and rate) and QoE (e.g., mean-opinion score)
inputs. Some factors that affect QoPE include brain cognition,
body physiology, and gestures. As an example, in [2], we have
shown that the human brain may not be able to distinguish
between different latency measures, when operating in the
URLLC regime. Meanwhile, in [3], we showed that visual and
haptic perceptions are key for maximizing wireless resource
utilization. Concisely, the requirements of XR services are
a blend of traditional URLLC and eMBB with incorporated
perceptual factors that 6G must support.
2) Connected Robotics and Autonomous Systems
(CRAS): A primary driver behind 6G systems is the immi-
nent deployment of CRAS including drone-delivery systems,
autonomous cars, autonomous drone swarms, vehicle platoons,
and autonomous robotics. The introduction of CRAS over the
cellular domain is not a simple case of “yet another short
packet uplink IoE service”. Instead, CRAS mandate control
system-driven latency requirements as well as the potential
need for eMBB transmissions of high definition (HD) maps.
The notion of QoPE applies once again for CRAS; however,
the physical environment is now a control system, potentially
augmented with AI. CRAS are perhaps a prime use case
that requires stringent requirements across the rate-reliability-
latency spectrum; a balance that is not yet available in 5G.
3) Wireless Brain-Computer Interactions (BCI): Be-
yond XR, tailoring wireless systems to their human user is
mandatory to support services with direct BCI. Traditionally,
BCI applications were limited to healthcare scenarios in
which humans can control prosthetic limbs or neighboring
computing devices using brain implants. However, the recent
advent of wireless brain-computer interfaces and implants will
revolutionize this field and introduce new use-case scenar-
ios that require 6G connectivity. Such scenarios range from
enabling brain-controlled movie input to fully-fledged multi-
brain-controlled cinema [4]. Using wireless BCI technologies,
instead of smartphones, people will interact with their envi-
ronment and other people using discrete devices, some worn,
some implanted, and some embedded in the world around
them. This will allow individuals to control their environments
through gestures and communicate with loved ones through
haptic messages. Such empathic and haptic communications,
coupled with related ideas such as affective computing in
which emotion-driven devices can match their functions to
their user’s mood, will constitute important 6G use cases.
Wireless BCI services will require fundamentally different
performance metrics compared to what 5G delivers. Similar to
XR, wireless BCI services need high rates, ultra low latency,
and high reliability. However, they are much more sensitive
than XR to physical perceptions and will necessitate QoPE
guarantees.
4) Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies
(DLT): Blockchains and DLT will be one of the most disrup-
tive IoE technologies. Blockchain and DLT applications can be
viewed as the next-generation of distributed sensing services
whose need for connectivity will require a synergistic mix of
URLLC and massive machine type communications (mMTC)
to guarantee low-latency, reliable connectivity, and scalability.
B. 6G: Driving Trends and Performance Metrics
The applications of Section II-A lead to new system-wide
trends that will set the goals for 6G:
• Trend 1 – More Bits, More spectrum, More Reliabil-
ity: Most of the driving applications of 6G require higher
bit rates than 5G. To cater for applications such as XR
and BCI, 6G must deliver yet another 1000x increase
in data rates yielding a target of around 1 Terabit/second.
This motivates a need for more spectrum resources, hence
motivating further exploration of frequencies beyond sub-
6 GHz. Meanwhile, the need for higher reliability will be
pervasive across most 6G applications and will be more
challenging to meet at high frequencies.
• Trend 2 – From Spatial to Volumetric Spectral and
Energy Efficiency: 6G must deal with ground and aerial
users, encompassing smartphones and XR/BCI devices
along with flying vehicles. This 3D nature of 6G requires
an evolution towards a volumetric rather than spatial
bandwidth definition. We envision that 6G systems must
deliver high spectral and energy efficiency (SEE) require-
ments measured in bps/Hz/m3 /Joules. This is a natural
evolution that started from 2G (bps) to 3G (bps/Hz), then
4G (bps/Hz/m2 ) to 5G (bps/Hz/m2 /Joules).
• Trend 3 – Emergence of Smart Surfaces and Envi-
ronments: Current and past cellular systems used base
stations (of different sizes and forms) for transmission.
We are currently witnessing a revolution in electromag-
netically active surfaces (e.g., using metamaterials) that
include man-made structures such as walls, roads, and
even entire buildings, as exemplified by the Berkeley
ewallpaper project2 . The use of such smart large intel-
ligent surfaces and environments for wireless communi-
cations will drive the 6G architectural evolution.
• Trend 4 – Massive Availability of Small Data: The
data revolution will continue in the near future and shift
from centralized, big data, towards massive, distributed
“small” data. 6G systems must harness both big and small
datasets across their infrastructure to enhance network
functions and provide new services. This trend motivates
new machine learning and data analytics techniques that
go beyond classical big data.
• Trend 5 – From Self-Organizing Networks (SON) to
Self-Sustaining Networks: SON has only been scarcely
integrated into 4G/5G networks due to a lack of real-
world need. However, CRAS and DLT technologies mo-
tivate an immediate need for intelligent SON to manage
network operations, resources, and optimization. 6G will
require a paradigm shift from classical SON, whereby
the network merely adapts its functions to specific envi-
ronment states, into a self-sustaining network (SSN) that
can maintain its key performance indicators (KPIs), in
perpetuity, under highly dynamic and complex environ-
ments stemming from the rich 6G application domains.
SSNs must be able to not only adapt their functions
but to also sustain their resource usage and management
(e.g., by harvesting energy and exploiting spectrum)
to autonomously maintain high, long-term KPIs. SSN
functions must leverage the recent revolution in AI tech-
nologies to create AI-powered 6G SSNs.
• Trend 6 – Convergence of Communications, Comput-
ing, Control, Localization, and Sensing (3CLS): The
past five generations of cellular systems had one exclusive
function: wireless communications. However, the con-
vergence of various technologies requires 6G to disrupt
this premise by providing multiple functions that include
communications, computing, control, localization, and
sensing. We envision 6G as a multi-purpose system that
can deliver multiple 3CLS services which are particularly
appealing and even necessary for applications such as
XR, CRAS, and DLT where tracking, control, localiza-
tion, and computing are an inherent feature. Moreover,
sensing services will enable 6G systems to provide users
with a 3D mapping of the radio environment across
different frequencies. Hence, 6G systems must tightly
integrate and manage 3CLS functions.
2 See https://bwrc.eecs.berkeley.edu/projects/5605/ewallpaper.
 • Trend 7 – End of the Smartphone Era: Smartphones
were central to 4G and 5G. However, recent years
witnessed an increase in wearable devices whose func-
tionalities are gradually replacing those of smartphones.
This trend is further fueled by applications such as XR
and BCI. The devices associated with those applications
range from smart wearables to integrated headsets and
smart body implants that can take direct sensory inputs
from human senses; bringing an end to smartphones and
potentially driving a majority of 6G use cases.
As shown in Table I, collectively, these trends impose new per-
formance targets and requirements on next-generation wireless
systems that will be met in two stages: a) A major beyond 5G
evolution and b) A revolutionary step towards 6G.
C. New 6G Service Classes
Beyond imposing new performance metrics, the new techno-
logical trends will redefine 5G application types by morphing
classical URLLC, eMBB, and mMTC and introducing new
services (summarized in Table II), as follows:
1) Mobile Broadband Reliable Low Latency Communi-
cation: As evident from Section II-B, the distinction between
eMBB and URLLC will no longer be sustainable to support
applications such as XR, wireless BCI, or CRAS. This is
because these applications require, not only high reliability and
low latency but also high 5G-eMBB-level data rates. Hence,
we propose a new service class called mobile broadband
reliable low latency communication (MBRLLC) that allows
6G systems to deliver any required performance within the
rate-reliability-latency space. As seen in Fig. 2, MBRLLC
generalizes classical URLLC and eMBB services. Energy
efficiency is central for MBRLLC, not only because of its
impact on reliability and rate, but also because 6G devices
will continue to shrink in size and increase in functionality.
2) Massive URLLC: 5G URLLC meant meeting relia-
bility and latency of very specific uplink IoE applications
such as smart factories„ for which prior work [5] provided
the needed fundamentals. However, 6G must scale classical
URLLC across the device dimension thereby leading to a new
massive URLLC (mURLLC) service that merges 5G URLLC
with legacy mMTC. mURLLC brings forth a reliability-
latency-scalability tradeoff which mandates a major departure
from average-based network designs (e.g., average through-
put/delay). Instead, a principled and scalable framework which
accounts for delay, reliability, packet size, network architec-
ture, topology (across access, edge, and core) and decision-
making under uncertainty is necessary [6].
3) Human-Centric Services: We propose a new class of
6G services, dubbed human-centric services (HCS), that pri-
marily require QoPE targets (tightly coupled with their human
users, as explained in Section II-A) rather than raw rate-
reliability-latency metrics. Wireless BCI are a prime example
of HCS in which network performance is determined by the
physiology of the human users and their actions. For such
services, a whole new set of QoPE metrics must be defined
and offered as function of raw QoS and QoE metrics.
4) Multi-Purpose 3CLS and Energy Services: 6G sys-
tems must jointly deliver 3CLS services and their derivatives.
They can also potentially offer energy to small devices via
wireless energy transfer. Such multi-purpose 3CLS and energy
services (MPS) will be particularly important for applications
such as CRAS. MPS require joint uplink-downlink designs
and must meet target performance for the control (e.g., stabil-
ity), computing (e.g., computing latency), energy (e.g., target
energy to transfer), localization (e.g., localization precision),
as well as sensing and mapping functions (e.g., accuracy of a
mapped radio environment).
III. 6G: E NABLING T ECHNOLOGIES
To enable the aforementioned services and guarantee their
performance, a cohort of new, disruptive technologies must be
integrated into 6G.
1) Above 6 GHz for 6G – from Small Cells to Tiny Cells:
As per Trends 1 and 2, the need for higher data rates and SEE
anywhere, anytime in 6G motivates exploring higher frequency
bands beyond sub-6 GHz. As a first step, this includes further
developing mmWave technologies to make mobile mmWave
a reality in early 6G systems. As 6G progresses, exploiting
frequencies beyond mmWave, at the terahertz (THz) band,
will become necessary [7]. To exploit higher mmWave and
THz frequencies, the size of the 6G cells must shrink from
small cells to “tiny cells” whose radius is only a few tens
meters. This motivates new architectural designs that need
much denser deployments of tiny cells and new high-frequency
mobility management techniques.
2) Transceivers with Integrated Frequency Bands: On
their own, dense high-frequency tiny cells may not be able to
provide the seamless connectivity required for mobile 6G ser-
vices. Instead, an integrated system that can leverage multiple
frequencies across the microwave/mmWave/THz spectra (e.g.,
using multi-mode base stations) is needed to provide seamless
connectivity at both wide and local area levels.
3) Communication with Large Intelligent Surfaces:
Massive MIMO will be integral to both 5G and 6G due to the
need for better SEE, higher data rates, and higher frequencies
(Trend 1). However, for 6G systems, as per Trend 3, we en-
vision an initial leap from traditional massive MIMO towards
large intelligent surfaces (LISs) and smart environments [8]
that can provide massive surfaces for wireless communications
and for heterogeneous devices (Trend 7). LISs enable inno-
vative ways for communication such as by using holographic
radio frequency (RF) and holographic MIMO. LISs will likely
play a basic role in early 6G roll-outs and become more central
as 6G matures.
4) Edge AI: AI is witnessing an unprecedented interest
from the wireless community [9] driven by recent break-
throughs in deep learning, the increase in available data (Trend
4), and the rise of smart devices (Trend 7). Imminent 6G use
cases for AI (particularly for reinforcement learning) revolve
around creating SSNs (Trend 5) that can autonomously sustain
high KPIs and manage resources, functions, and network
control. AI will also enable 6G to automatically provide MPS
to its users and to send and create 3D radio environment maps
 TABLE I
R EQUIREMENTS OF 5G VS . B EYOND 5G VS . 6G.

5G Beyond 5G 6G

• eMBB. • Reliable eMBB. New applications (see Section II-C):

• URLLC. • URLLC. • MBRLLC.
Application Types • mMTC. • mMTC. • mURLLC.
• Hybrid (URLLC + eMBB). • HCS.
• MPS.
• Smartphones. • Smartphones. • Sensors and DLT devices.
• Sensors. • Sensors. • CRAS.
Device Types
• Drones. • Drones. • XR and BCI equipment.
• XR equipment. • Smart implants.

Spectral and Energy

Efficiency Gains with
10x in bps/Hz/m2 100x in bps/Hz/m2 1000x in bps/Hz/m3 (volumetric)
Respect to Today’s
Networks

Rate Requirements 1 Gbps 100 Gbps 1 Tbps

End-to-End Delay
5 ms 1 ms < 1 ms
Requirements

Radio-Only Delay
100 ns 100 ns 10 ns
Requirements

Processing Delay 100 ns 50 ns 10 ns

End-to-End Reliability
Five 9s Six 9s Seven 9s
Requirements

• Sub-6 GHz. • Sub-6 GHz. • Sub-6 GHz.

Frequency Bands • MmWave for fixed access. • MmWave for fixed access at 26 GHz • MmWave for mobile access.
and 28GHz. • Exploration of THz bands (above 140 GHz).
• Non-RF (e.g., optical, VLC, etc.).
• Dense sub-6 GHz small • Denser sub-6 GHz small cells with • Cell-free smart surfaces at high
base stations with umbrella macro base stations. frequency supported by mmWave
umbrella macro base tiny cells for mobile and fixed
stations. • < 100 m tiny and dense mmWave cells. access.
Architecture
• Temporary hotspots served by
• MmWave small cells of drone-carried base stations or
about 100 m (for fixed tethered balloons.
access).
• Trials of tiny THz cells.

(Trend 6). These short-term AI-enabled 6G functions will be
complemented by a so-called “collective network intelligence”
in which network intelligence is pushed at the edge, running
AI algorithms and machine learning on edge devices (Trend
7) to provide distributed autonomy. This new edge AI leap
will create a 6G system that can integrate the services of
Section II, realize 3CLS, and potentially replace classical
frame structures.
5) Integrated Terrestrial, Airborne, and Satellite Net-
works: Beyond their inevitable role as users of 6G systems,
drones can be leveraged to complement ground, terrestrial
networks by providing connectivity to hotspots and to areas
in which infrastructure is scarce. Meanwhile, both drones and
terrestrial base stations may require satellite connectivity with
low orbit satellites (LEO) and CubeSats to provide backhaul
support and additional wide area coverage. Integrating terres-
trial, airborne, and satellite networks [10] and [11] into a single
wireless system will be essential for 6G.
6) Energy Transfer and Harvesting: 6G could be the
first generation of cellular systems that can provide energy,
along with 3CLS (Trend 6). As wireless energy transfer is
maturing, it is plausible to foresee 6G base stations providing
basic power transfer for devices, particularly implants and sen-
sors (Trend 7). Adjunct energy-centric ideas, such as energy
harvesting (from RF or renewable sources) and backscatter
will also be a component of 6G.
7) Beyond 6G: A handful of technologies will mature
along the same time of 6G and, hence, potentially play a

Reliability (1-10y)
-1
-5
-7
1000
100 -9
1 URLLC
0 0 0.1
Data rate (Gbps)
Fig. 2. MBRLLC services and several special cases (including classical eMBB and URLLC) within the rate-reliability-latency space. Other involved, associated
metrics that are not shown include energy and network scale.
role towards the end of the 6G standardization and research
process. One prominent example is quantum computing and
communications that can provide security and long-distance
networking. Currently, major research efforts are focused on
the quantum realm and we expect them to intersect with 6G.
Other similar beyond 6G technologies include integration of
RF and non-RF links (including optical, neural, molecular, and
other channels).
IV. 6G: R ESEARCH AGENDA AND O PEN P ROBLEMS
Building on the identified trends in Section II and the
enabling technologies in Section III, we now put forward a
research agenda for 6G along with selected open problems
(summarized in Table III).
1) 3D Rate-Reliability-Latency Fundamentals: Funda-
mental 3D performance of 6G systems, in terms of rate-
reliability-latency tradeoffs and SEE is needed. Such analy-
sis must quantify the spectrum, energy, and communication
requirements that 6G needs to support the identified driving
applications. Recent works in [6] and [12] provide a first step
in this direction.
2) Exploring Integrated, Heterogeneous High-
Frequency Bands: Exploiting mmWave and THz in
6G brings forth several new open problems from hardware
to system design. For mmWave, supporting high mobility
at mmWave frequencies will be a central open problem.
Meanwhile, for THz, new transceiver architectures are needed
along with new THz propagation models [7]. High power,
high sensitivity, and low noise figure are key transceiver
features needed to overcome the very high path-loss at THz
frequencies. Once these physical layer aspects are well-
understood, developing new multiple access and networking
paradigms under the highly varying and mobile mmWave and
Broadband
LL
eMBB
Mobile
Broadband
Reliable
1 10 100
Latency (ms)
THz environments is necessary. Another important research
direction is to study the co-existence of THz, mmWave, and
microwave cells across all layers, building on early works
such as [13].
3) 3D Networking: Due to the integration of ground and
airborne networks, as outlined in Section III, 6G must support
communications in 3D space, including serving users in 3D
and deploying 3D base stations (e.g., tethered balloons or
temporary drones). This, in turn, requires concerted research
on various fronts. First, measurement and (data-driven) mod-
eling of the 3D propagation environment is needed. Second,
new approaches for 3D frequency and network planning (e.g.,
where to deploy base stations, tethered balloons, or even
drone-base stations) must be developed. Our work in [10]
already showed that such 3D planning is substantially differ-
ent from conventional 2D networks due to the new altitude
dimension and the associated degrees of freedom. Finally,
new network optimizations for mobility management, multiple
access, routing, and resource management in 3D are needed.
4) Communication with LIS: As per Trend 3, 6G will
provide wireless connectivity via smart LIS environments that
include active frequency selective surfaces, metallic passive
reflectors, passive/active reflect arrays, as well as nonre-
configurable and reconfigurable metasurfaces. Open research
problems here range from the optimized deployment of pas-
sive reflectors and metasurfaces to AI-powered operation of
reconfigurable LIS. Fundamental analysis to understand the
performance of LIS and smart surfaces, in terms of rate,
latency, reliability, and coverage is needed, building on the
early works in [8]. Another important research direction is to
investigate the potential of using LIS-based reflective surfaces
to enhance the range and coverage of tiny cells and to
dynamically modify the propagation environment. Using LIS
 TABLE II
S UMMARY OF 6G SERVICE CLASSES , THEIR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS , AND EXAMPLE APPLICATIONS .

Service Performance Indicators Example Applications

• Stringent rate-reliability-latency requirements. • XR/AR/VR.

• Energy efficiency. • Autonomous vehicular systems.
MBRLLC
• Rate-reliability-latency in mobile environments. • Autonomous drones.
• Legacy eMBB and URLLC.
• Ultra high reliability. • Classical Internet of Things.
• Massive connectivity. • User tracking.
mURLLC
• Massive reliability. • Blockchain and DLT.
• Scalable URLLC. • Massive sensing.
• Autonomous robotics.

• QoPE capturing raw wireless metrics as • BCI.

well as human and physical factors. • Haptics.
HCS
• Empathic communication.
• Affective communication.
• Control stability. • CRAS.
• Computing latency. • Telemedicine.
• Localization accuracy. • Environmental mapping and imaging.
MPS
• Sensing and mapping accuracy. • Some special cases of XR services.
• Latency and reliability for communications.
• Energy.

Communication &
Information
AI/Machine learning Data analytics Theory
foundations
Intelligence Communications
foundations foundations
Game Theory Electromagnetics
Autonomy Large
and sensing intelligent surfaces
foundations foundations
Control Theory 3D Stochastic
Geometry
Risk 6G System Networking
foundations foundations
Network Science
Microeconomics &
Statistics Physics Optimization
foundations foundations
Human Computing
Physics and QoPE foundations Stochastic
foundations Optimization &
Optimal Transport
Psychophysics
& Physiology

Fig. 3. Necessary foundations and associated analytical tools for 6G.

for wireless energy transfer is also an interesting direction.
5) AI for Wireless: AI brings forward many major re-
search directions for 6G. Beyond the need for massive, small
data analytics as well as using machine learning (ML) and AI-
based SSNs (realized using reinforcement learning and game
theory), there is also a need to operate ML algorithms reliably
over 6G to deliver the applications of Section II. To perform
these critical application tasks, low-latency, high-reliability
and scalable AI is needed, along with a reliable infrastructure
[9] and [14]. This joint design of ML and wireless networks
is an important area of research for 6G.
6) QoPE Metrics: The design of QoPE metrics that in-
tegrate physical factors from human physiology (for HCS
services) or from a control system (for CRAS) is an important
6G research area, especially in light of new, emerging devices
(Trend 7). This requires both real-world psychophysics ex-
periments as well as new, rigorous mathematical expressions
for QoPE that combine QoS, QoE, and human perceptions.
Theoretical development of QoPE can be achieved using
techniques from other disciplines such as operations research
(e.g., multi-attribute utility theory (see [15])) and machine
learning (see [2]). 6G will be the first generation to enable a
new breed of applications (wireless BCI) leveraging multiple
human cognitive senses.
7) Joint Communication and Control: 6G needs to
pervasively support CRAS. The performance of CRAS is gov-
erned by real-world control systems whose operation requires
data input from wireless 6G links. Therefore, operating CRAS
over 6G systems requires a communication and control co-
design, whereby the performance of the 6G wireless links is
optimized to cater for the stability of the control system and
vice versa. Due to the traditional radio-centric focus (3GPP
and IEEE fora), such a co-design has been overlooked in
5G. Meanwhile, prior works on networked control abstract the
specifics of the wireless network and cannot apply to cellular
communications. This makes the communication-control co-
design a key research topic in 6G.
8) 3CLS: The idea of joint communication and control
must be extended to the joint design of the entire 3CLS
functions. The interdependence between computing, commu-
nication, control, localization, sensing, energy, and mapping
has not yet been fully explored in an end-to-end manner. Key
questions range from how to jointly meet the performance of
all 3CLS services to multi-modal sensor fusion for reconstruct-
ing 3D images and navigating in unknown environments for
navigating robots, autonomous driving, etc. 3CLS is needed
for various applications including CRAS, XR, and DLT.
9) RF and non-RF Link Integration: 6G will witness a
convergence of RF and non-RF links that encompass optical,
visible light communication (VLC), molecular communica-
tion, and neuro-communication, among others. Design of such
joint RF/non-RF systems is an open research area.
10) Holographic Radio: RF holography (including holo-
graphic MIMO) and spatial spectral holography can be made
possible with 6G due to the use of LIS and similar structures.
Holographic RF allows for control of the entire physical space
and the full closed loop of the electromagnetic field through
spatial spectral holography and spatial wave field synthesis.
This greatly improves spectrum efficiency and network ca-
pacity, and helps the integration of imaging and wireless
communication. How to realize holographic radio is a widely
open area.
An overview on the necessary analytical tools and funda-
mentals related to these open research problems is shown in
Fig. 3.
V. C ONCLUSION AND R ECOMMENDATIONS
This article laid out a bold new vision for 6G systems that
outlines the trends, challenges and associated research. While
many topics will come as a natural 5G evolution, new avenues
of research such as LIS-communication, 3CLS, holographic
radio, and others will create an exciting research agenda for
the next decade. To conclude, several recommendations are in
order:
• Recommendation 1: A first step towards 6G is to enable
MBRLLC and mobility management at high-frequency
mmWave bands and beyond (i.e., THz).
• Recommendation 2: 6G requires a move from radio-
centric system design (à-la-3GPP) towards an end-to-end
co-design 3CLS under the orchestration of an AI-driven
intelligence substrate.
• Recommendation 3: The 6G vision will not be a simple
case of exploring additional, high-frequency spectrum
bands to provide more capacity. Instead, it will be driven
by a diverse portfolio of applications, technologies, and
techniques (see Figs. 1 and 3).
• Recommendation 4: 6G will transition from the
smartphone-base station paradigm into a new era of smart
surfaces communicating with human-embedded implants.
• Recommendation 5: Performance analysis and opti-
mization of 6G requires operating in 3D space and
moving away from simple averaging towards fine-grained
analysis that deals with tails, distributions, and QoPE.
R EFERENCES
[1] F. Boccardi, R. W. Heath, A. Lozano, T. L. Marzetta, and P. Popovski,
“Five disruptive technology directions for 5G,” IEEE Communications
Magazine, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 74–80, February 2014.
[2] A. Taleb Zadeh Kasgari, W. Saad, and M. Debbah, “Human-in-the-loop
wireless communications: Machine learning and brain-aware resource
management,” arXiv preprint arXiv:1804.00209, March 2018.
[3] J. Park and M. Bennis, “URLLC-eMBB slicing to support VR multi-
modal perceptions over wireless cellular systems,” in Proc. of the IEEE
Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), Abu-Dhabi, UAE,
Dec. 2018.
[4] P. Zioga, F. Pollick, M. Ma, P. Chapman, and K. Stefanov, “Enheduanna
a manifesto of falling live brain computer cinema performance: Per-
former and audience participation, cognition and emotional engagement
using multi brain BCI interaction,” Frontiers in neuroscience, vol. 12,
pp. 191, April 2018.
[5] G. Durisi, T. Koch, and P. Popovski, “Toward massive, ultrareliable, and
low-latency wireless communication with short packets,” Proceedings
of the IEEE, vol. 104, no. 9, pp. 1711–1726, Sep. 2016.
[6] M. Bennis, M. Debbah, and H. V. Poor, “Ultrareliable and low-latency
wireless communication: Tail, risk, and scale,” Proceedings of the IEEE,
vol. 106, no. 10, pp. 1834–1853, Oct 2018.
[7] Y. Xing and T. S. Rappaport, “Propagation measurement system and
approach at 140 GHz-moving to 6G and above 100 GHz,” arXiv preprint
arXiv:1808.07594, 2018.
[8] S. Hu, F. Rusek, and O. Edfors, “Beyond massive MIMO: The potential
of data transmission with large intelligent surfaces,” IEEE Transactions
on Signal Processing, vol. 66, no. 10, pp. 2746–2758, May 2018.
[9] M. Chen, U. Challita, W. Saad, C. Yin, and M. Debbah, “Machine
learning for wireless networks with artificial intelligence: A tutorial
on neural networks,” available online: arxiv.org/abs/1710.02913, Oct.
2017.
[10] M. Mozaffari, A. Taleb Zadeh Kasgari, W. Saad, M. Bennis, and
M. Debbah, “Beyond 5G with UAVs: Foundations of a 3D wireless
cellular network,” IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol.
18, no. 1, pp. 357–372, Jan 2019.
[11] X. Cao, S. Kim, K. Obraczka, C. Wang, D. O. Wu, and
H. Yanikomeroglu, “Guest editorial airborne communication networks,”
IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. 36, no. 9, pp.
1903–1906, Sep. 2018.
[12] A. T. Z. Kasgari and W. Saad, “Model-free ultra reliable low latency
communication (URLLC): A deep reinforcement learning framework,”
in Proc. of the IEEE International Conference on Communications
(ICC), Shanghai, China, May 2019.
[13] O. Semiari, W. Saad, M. Bennis, and M. Debbah, “Integrated millimeter
wave and Sub-6 GHz wireless networks: A roadmap for joint mobile
broadband and ultra-reliable low-latency communications,” IEEE Wire-
less Communications, to appear, 2019.
[14] J. Park, S. Samarakoon, M. Bennis, and M. Debbah, “Wireless network
intelligence at the edge,” arXiv preprint arXiv:1812.02858, Dec. 2018.
[15] M. Chen, W. Saad, and C. Yin, “Virtual reality over wireless networks:
Quality-of-service model and learning-based resource management,”
IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 66, no. 11, pp. 5621–5635,
Nov 2018.

Research Area
3D Rate-Reliability-Latency
Fundamentals
Exploring Integrated,
Heterogeneous
High-Frequency Bands
3D Networking
Communication with LIS
AI for Wireless
New QoPE Metrics
Joint Communication and Control
3CLS
RF and non-RF Link Integration
Holographic Radio
View publication stats
TABLE III
S UMMARY OF R ESEARCH A REAS
Challenges
• Fundamental communication limits.
• 3D nature of 6G systems.
• Challenges of operation in highly mobile systems.
• Susceptibility to blockage.
• Short range.
• Lack of propagation models.
• Need for high fidelity hardware.
• Co-existence of frequency bands.
• Presence of users and base stations in 3D.
• High mobility.
• Complex nature of LIS surfaces.
• Lack of existing performance models.
• Lack of propagation models.
• Heterogeneity of 6G devices and services.
• Ability of LIS to provide different
functions (reflectors, base stations, etc.).
• Design of low-complexity AI solutions.
• Massive, small data.
• Incorporate raw metrics with human perceptions.
• Accurate modeling of human perceptions
and physiology.
• Integration of control and communication metrics.
• Handling dynamics and multiple time scales.
• Integration of multiple functions.
• Lack of prior models.
• Different physical nature of RF/non-RF interfaces.
• Lack of existing models.
• Hardware and physical layer challenges.
Open Problems
• 3D performance analysis of rate-reliability-latency region.
• Characterization of achievable rate-reliability-latency targets.
• 3D SEE characterization.
• Characterization of energy and spectrum needs
for rate-reliability-latency targets.
• Effective mobility management for mmWave and THz systems.
• Cross-band physical, link, and network layer optimization.
• Coverage and range improvement.
• Design of mmWave and THz tiny cells.
• Design of new high fidelity hardware for THz.
• Propagation measurements and modeling across mmWave
and THz bands.
• 3D propagation modeling.
• 3D performance metrics.
• 3D mobility management and network optimization.
• Optimal deployment and location of LIS surfaces.
• LIS reflectors vs. LIS base stations.
• LIS for energy transfer.
• AI-enabled LIS.
• LIS across 6G services.
• Fundamental performance analysis of LIS transmitters and
reflectors at various frequencies.
• Reinforcement learning for SON.
• Big and small data analytics.
• AI-powered network management.
• Edge AI over wireless systems.
• Theoretical development of QoPE metrics.
• Empirical QoPE characterization.
• Real psychophysics experiments.
• Definition of realistic QoPE targets and measures.
• Communication and control systems co-design.
• Control-enabled wireless metrics.
• Wireless-enabled control metrics.
• Joint optimization for CRAS.
• Design of 3CLS metrics.
• Joint 3CLS optimization.
• AI-enabled 3CLS.
• Energy efficient 3CLS.
• Design of joint RF/non-RF hardware.
• System-level analysis of joint RF/non-RF systems.
• Use of RF/non-RF systems for various 6G services.
• Design of holographic MIMO using LIS.
• Performance analysis of holographic RF.
• 3CLS over holographic radio.
• Network optimization with holographic radio.